Carrying the bag of soil, Naoki strolled around Porto Marinada Market once again, hoping to find something suitable for the other Pokemon at the ranch.
However, after looking around, he couldn't find any similar items.
With no other choice, Naoki turned and left, heading towards his next destination—the town's seed shop.
The owner of this shop always wore a brown coat and was a middle-aged man with slightly curly brown hair and a slightly chubby build.
Seeing Naoki enter, he quickly recognized this newcomer rancher who had recently moved to town, and greeted him warmly:
"Morning, what seeds are you looking to buy today? Spring is almost over, and some spring crop seeds are on discount!"
Naoki looked around and quickly spotted a batch of newly arrived seeds on the shelves.
Perhaps to distinguish them by planting season, these seeds were packed in deep green bags like the summer.
Several farmer-like individuals were selecting seeds there, clearly showing that he wasn't the only one preparing early for summer.
"No need for the spring ones." Naoki said, "This time I'm here to check out the summer seeds."
With that, he went to the shelf and started carefully selecting.
Compared to spring, there were many more varieties of summer crops.
For example, corn, wheat, hops, sweet melons, pineapples, pumpkins, onions, sunflowers.
There were also many more types of flowers, like cornflowers, evening primrose, lavender, hyacinths, and so on.
Naoki gazed at these crops, lost in thought.
Currently, his ranch focused on animal husbandry, with income mainly from Rock Salt Sheep Milk and the mushrooms from the cave behind, not relying on farming for a living.
Therefore, when purchasing crops, their practicality was the main consideration.
"Corn can be sold, and besides selling, it can also be made into boiled corn and popcorn, which are two nice snacks."
"Wheat? I need to save up to build a mill eventually. With a mill, I can process wheat and corn into flour and animal feed."
"Hops… although the ranch doesn't have a brewing cellar yet, according to my plan, the new house will be built by winter at the latest. I wonder if the hops harvested in summer can be stored until autumn. If possible, I can use the idle winter to brew wine."
As for sweet melons, pineapples, pumpkins, and the like, some can be planted. The crops can be sold or used to develop new recipes.
Sunflowers too, a field of Sunflora not only beautifies the ranch but the sunflower seeds can also be roasted into snacks for leisure time.
With that thought, Naoki bought a packet of each kind of seed, and while paying, the owner looked at the seeds and couldn't help but say:
"Actually, you don't need to buy every type of seed. Managing so many seeds can be a lot of work for a rancher, and each type of seed has different planting methods and maturity times. If you mess up, it could be quite troublesome."
"You know, especially for a newcomer rancher, it might be better to start by planting crops you like. Once you're familiar with their growth habits, you can try other crops."
Hearing this, Naoki smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have a special notebook to record things. Besides selling, these crops are mainly for us and the Pokemon on the ranch to enjoy."
"Alright." Hearing this, the owner didn't say more.
Leaving the seed shop, Naoki then visited Happy Ranch.
The old man was sitting behind the counter, wearing reading glasses and holding a newspaper.
Hearing the wind chime, he looked up to see Naoki walking in.
The old man chuckled and said, "Is that you, Naoki? What Pokemon are you looking to buy today?"
"Have there been any updates on the ship transporting Miltank?" Naoki asked.
"Yes!"
The old man nodded and, recalling the notification from the phone, said with emotion:
"The cargo ship transporting the Miltank encountered trouble, caught in a terrible storm at sea, and sank after hitting a reef near a small island."
"Fortunately, the crew were well-trained, and with the help of Water Type Pokemon, they rescued the sinking Miltank."
"They said that while lost at sea, they were guided by a Dragonite, and with its help, they found their way back to land successfully."
"Dragonite?"
Naoki keenly picked up on the keyword in the conversation.
The old man nodded and smiled, "Indeed, a very kind Pokemon! Thanks to its help, the Miltank were able to arrive here. They reached the ranch just yesterday, would you like to take a look?"
Naoki had only ever drunk MooMoo Milk and had never seen a real Miltank.
So upon hearing this, he curiously nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, the old man got up from behind the counter, leading him through the small door at the back to the ranch where many Pokemon were kept.
On a lush green pasture, Naoki saw the group of Miltank.
In reality, Miltank looked like a pink dairy cow. Their tails ended in a spherical shape, and the black patterns on their heads made it seem like they were wearing a black assassin's hood.
They appeared strong and sturdy, perhaps the reason why many trainers use Miltank for Pokemon battles.
The most famous Miltank user would be Whitney, the Gym Leader of Goldenrod Gym.
It's said that her Miltank once blocked countless challengers with its Rollout move, becoming a nightmare for those trainers.
"So these are Miltank. It's your first time seeing them, right?" the old man asked with a smile.
One could say that, Naoki nodded, vaguely replying, "You could say that! I've only seen them on TV before."
"Miltank are humans' best partners, their milk has nourished generation after generation. People in both the nearby Galar Region and the distant Kanto Region grew up drinking their milk."
The old man paused and asked, "Have you heard of Whitney?"
"Hmm?" Naoki was a bit surprised, not expecting to hear Whitney's name here: "Whitney?"
"That's right." The old man nodded, "She's a very famous Miltank trainer, and the milk her Miltank produces has been rated as the finest MooMoo Fresh Milk, quite impressive!"
The finest MooMoo Milk...
This quality should be comparable to milk enhanced with [Milk Porridge].
To raise Miltank to such a degree, one must admit that Whitney is quite skilled.
Naoki truly felt admiration from the bottom of his heart.
"Alright." The old man asked, "Would you like to take a few?"